New York state briefs

Friday

Herkimer County Sheriff's Department to apply for terrorism prevention grant

HERKIMER - The Herkimer County Sheriff's Department will be applying for a grant from the state office of Homeland Security.

The grant is in the amount of $24,800 and is used as a Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention program, also known as LETPP.

The grant focuses on the prevention of terrorist attacks and provides law enforcement and public safety communities funds to support the following activities:
Intelligence gathering and information sharing through enhancing/establishing fusion centers; Hardening high value targets; Planning strategically; Continuing to build interpretable communications; Collaborating with non-law enforcement partners, other government agencies, and the private sector.

The use of the grant must be within the guidelines of the New York State Homeland Security Strategy, which is prevent, protect, respond and recover.

Herkimer County Sheriff Christopher Farber said the grant is applied for every year.

“We can use (the money) for a lot of different things as long as they fit within that years guidelines for the grant,” Farber said. “We do a lot of training and identifying of a potential terrorist. Every year the grant changes so we are able to provide different capabilities.”

Farber adds that while filling out the application the department has to decide what the grant money will be used for.

“This year we put in for portable radios, computer projectors for training and a weapons tracking and permitting system,” Farber said.

Social host law used in Little Falls man’s arrest

LITTLE FALLS — A 28-year-old Little Falls man has been arrested in connection to a party he threw, which violated the recently adopted social host law in the city.

According to police reports, Shaun Patrick Sullivan, of 59 Burwell St., was arrested Jan. 21 at 11:20 p.m. for misdemeanor petit larceny and infractions within the social host law.

Sullivan is alleged to have stolen a desktop computer from another person. During an investigation into those allegations, it was found that the subject had also thrown a party at the residence he was staying at, and minors attending the party were served alcoholic beverages.

He was arrested at the police department, ticketed and received an appearance ticket to return to city court on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m.

The social host law, adopted last summer, has become the Little Falls Police Department’s newest tool in fighting underage drinking. It establishes fines and possible jail time for parents or guardians who allow the consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs in their home by underage children, and it loosely ties into implied approval by parents, in which a parent may know of a child’s drinking but failed to take corrective action against it. This is also true for adults who allow minors to drink in their residence or with permission.

Five Penn Yan Academy students arrested on drug-related charges

PENN YAN – Penn Yan Police made several arrests after an investigation of an incident at Penn Yan Academy.

It is alleged that Preston Maciejewski, 16 of 2068 Townsend Road, Penn Yan, sold a controlled substance called Adderall to two other Penn Yan Academy students at the school during school hours. He was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance fourth degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance fifth degree (class “C” and “D’” felonies). He was arraigned before Justice Dan Hibbard following his arrest on Jan. 16. Maciejewski was then committed to jail on $2000 cash or $4000 bond. He later posted bail.

In connection with the Jan. 16 incident, a 17-year-old Penn Yan youth was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance seventh degree, a class A misdemeanor. His name is not being released because he is a mandatory youthful offender. He was released on an appearance ticket for village court.

A 16-year-old Penn Yan area youth was also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance seventh degree and unlawful possession of marijuana. It is alleged he possessed an Adderall pill and a pipe with marijuana residue while in school at Penn Yan Academy. He was also issued an appearance ticket to village court.

Charges are also pending against two other 15-year-old PYA students for a November 2007 incident. One is charged with sale of a controlled substance fourth degree and possession with intent to sell. The other is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance seventh degree. Their cases will be referred to the Yates County Probation Department for possible family court action.

Feds will help pay for historical signs

FAIRPORT — The village will soon be getting signs to designate up to nine historic sites throughout the downtown area.

During a brief ceremony in front of Village Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, Mayor Fritz May was given a $13,000 check by Frank Dean, director of the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, a federal entity that comes under the aegis of the National Park Service.

“I’m ecstatic that we’re finally going to be able to move ahead with these historic markers,” May said, noting that the project also includes a glass-enclosed information kiosk that will be put in Kennelley Park.

The village’s Industrial Development Agency will provide a $13,000 match. Executive Director Kal Wysokowski said sites under consideration include the lift bridge, Village Hall, the Green Lantern Inn, First Baptist Church, Village Landing, a trolley station north of the canal, Kennelley Park, the Box Factory, railroad district, Potter Memorial on West Church Street and the Fairport Historical Museum.

“Certainly, the signs will help visitors understand the story of Fairport and why this is such a unique place,” Wysokowski said. “It’s a place where people, tastes and cultures come together and are celebrated.” She said the village hopes to have at least some of the signs up in time for the summer tourist season.

This old office

HENRIETTA — Some would call it love at first sight. Others would simply call it pure luck. But, finding the prime spot for his next office was like finding a diamond in the rough for Mark Congdon.

During a routine drive up West Henrietta Road, he fell in love with an old Federal-style home he spotted from the street.

“The first time I saw it, I knew that’s where my next office was going to be and it wasn’t even for sale,” Congdon said as he walked proudly across the polished hardwood floors, some of which are the original floors from the 1800s.

As Congdon researched the home, known as the Abel Post home, he discovered it was once a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s. The Post family were famous abolitionists during that time.

The office is designed to take its workers back in time. Murals, photos and artifacts dating back to the Underground Railroad era are nestled in the house, which Congdon has successfully converted into a two-story office building for his financial firm, Horizon Group.

Photos of President Abraham Lincoln are placed about the home and offer a reminder of the times America faced as Lincoln attempted to abolish slavery. A wooden door in the home’s basement once led to an underground tunnel that took runaway slaves into the basement of another home nearby.

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